Horizon
by Mooseyfate
Summary: She sat staring out onto the horizon waiting, just waiting. One chapter fic, Fox/? (meant to be Fox/Paloma, but it can be a Therox fic)
1. Part 1

Horizon  
  
All right, this is a one shot fic about Paloma and Fox. It doesn't even have to be about them, but that's who it's intended to be. Please tell me what you think, as I love feedback, good or bad!  
  
Don't own 'em.  
  
~*~  
  
It was early. Too early, the sun wasn't even past the horizon yet. But she was awake. It seemed that's how it always was.  
  
She'd woken up to a dark house, and knew from past experience, that sleep wouldn't come again. She'd put on her favorite sundress and slipped on some sandals, grabbed a blanket, then left. No note, nothing. It had become ritual for her to do this and even with a note, no one would care to know where she was. And the reason was one she hoped she'd never have to explain. Maybe one day everyone would know without her having to tell them, but due to the lackluster response she usually got from her family she doubted it.  
  
So she made her way down the drive, to the end of the street and around the corner to the docks. There it was only a five-minute walk to the beach. And as she stepped onto the sand, the sun began rising. She walked towards the shore, set the blanket down and watched. Anyone who happened to pass by would think she was watching the sun come up. And she was, but she was also waiting. Everyday at the just about the same time he'd run by. She doubted he ever even noticed her; he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts. Which was fine with her. She'd come here still, even if he wasn't around. But he certainly made the scenery better.  
  
And now she sat. Knowing that he'd jog by in front of her in a matter of minutes. And sad to say, it was the best part of her day. He'd go by and she'd studiously ignore him, not that he ever noticed her, save for the one day he caught her staring, then as he was jogging away she'd watch him until he was just a tiny dot in the distance. Then the sun would rise and she'd go home. Eat breakfast, change, and then go to work.  
  
It was a sad ritual, but it was all she had. Since it was her restaurant she could work any time she wanted to, so she was usually in the kitchen there. Lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice that the sun had already risen. It beat down on her and she glanced at her watch. He was late. Odd. After about two months she'd known his routine down pat. It was the same every morning. She shrugged it off, it wasn't her business, maybe he'd had some girl over last night or something. She didn't even know the guy, so what was she worried about?  
  
She glanced along the beach once more, and then left.  
  
And so it was. He stopped running by her in the mornings. She never even saw him on the beach anymore. But she still came. She wasn't entirely sure why she even did anymore. It wasn't because of him she started going, but he was her reason for staying. In the back of her mind she always hoped that he'd run by her again.  
  
4 months later~~  
  
She hadn't needed the beach anymore after she met Noah. Well, she'd known Noah, but she didn't need it when they started dating. She hadn't had time either. Between Noah and work, she was always busy.  
  
But, of course sometimes her mind would stray back to the man on the beach. She didn't even know his name, and he still haunted her dreams. Harmony wasn't a big town; she should've seen him again by now. But she didn't. A virtual stranger and she couldn't get him out of her head.  
  
Noah didn't seem to notice. After he'd returned home he'd been busy at the hospital. And then he proposed.  
  
Saying yes at the time was more of an automatic response. She loved him, but she still thought of someone else. She supposed he was the forbidden fruit. She'd never had a chance to experience him, so he was always a thought for her. She'd always wonder.  
  
~*~  
  
With wedding plans, moving plans, and life plans, she found she needed an escape again. So, it was to the beach again. She watched the sun rise and then left.  
  
She was getting married in a week, to a man she didn't truly love and here she was sitting on the beach. Staring off into nothingness. The sun had risen over three hours ago, she was hot, thirsty and hungry, but for some reason she couldn't get herself to move.  
  
Just sitting, staring, thinking, wondering, "what if's" and "what might've been's" ran through her mind and she still sat.  
  
It started raining, a little bit at first, just a drizzle, but she sat. Staring off into the clouds, where the sun would disappear in a matter of hours. Then it seemed as if the heavens themselves opened up. It was pouring and she let the rain wash over her. Turning her into ice, and she hoped that no one noticed her interior was beginning to look like that too.  
  
~*~  
  
It was Whitney Russell that made him run. Her smile, her laugh, the fact that she had no idea he even existed. Maybe it was the thrill of the hunt that made him want her, he didn't know and at the moment he didn't care. Because want her he did.  
  
So he took up jogging. At first he didn't even seem to notice her, though he ran past her every morning. Then one day she was late and it registered to him that he *knew* she was late. When he ran towards her the next day he got a good look at her profile, and she was stunning. But that's all she was, a morning distraction from his thoughts about winning Whitney.  
  
Get up early, jog down the beach, then go to work at Crane Industries. Something he'd actually gotten good at. Despite his father and grandfather's initial hatred for him, they'd both come to tolerate him because he was a decent worker now.  
  
Then suddenly all is plans worked. Whitney was his and he was happy. Well, he thought he was happy. He stopped jogging because he didn't need it anymore. His mind was clear and Whitney was his. In the back of his mind he wondered what happened to the girl from the beach, but his thoughts were otherwise occupied.  
  
Then a few months later it all changed again. He got promoted at Crane and he and Whitney went their separate ways. She went back to Chad and he went back to running. But she was gone. The girl from the beach that was in his thoughts every so often, it was stupid. She was someone he'd never even said "hello" to and he felt more connected to her then he ever did to Whitney. He ran in the afternoon instead of before sunrise, so he wouldn't have to think about what he used to run towards.  
  
For some reason when he ran, he didn't feel so empty. He wasn't one to whine, he had problems, but there were people who had it far worse then he did. Running helped him. He could chase away his demons if he ran fast enough sometimes.  
  
~*~  
  
It had been a long time since he saw her. Months. She sat staring off into the water, thinking, he supposed. He stopped running and he watched her. She didn't move at all and when it started raining she didn't even flinch. It was an odd sight, but since no one wants to be at the beach when it's raining there was no one around.  
  
He stood about a hundred feet away looking at her, while she stared off into the clouds. And he was again drawn to her. He wondered how long she had been sitting there and if she was waiting for something. She never noticed him before; whenever he went by her she simply continued watching the sunrise. It was oddly fascinating. Although once he had looked back and saw her looking at him, she'd blushed and turned away. So maybe she wasn't as oblivious as she wanted to seem.  
  
He walked towards her and noticed she was shivering. Her knees were pulled up and her chin rested atop them, her arms wrapped around and she still sat.  
  
He sat down next to her and she leaned on him.  
  
Two virtual strangers sitting side-by-side totally soaked and just thinking, watching the rain stop and the sun set down by the horizon.  
  
~*~  
  
As far as one shots go, that wasn't my best. But, I try. I'm a little iffy about the ending, but the other one I wrote didn't really go with it. Eh, whatever. Please let me know what you think and if you really want I can post the other ending. 


	2. Part 2

Horizon ~ Part 2  
  
This is the ending that might actually get people to read this.  
  
Disclaim  
  
~*~  
  
So they sat. The clouds parted and the rain stopped, the sun shone in the sky and they watched it set and thought about what the next day would bring.  
  
Her wedding was soon. She was committed to be with Noah. It wasn't a passionate love, but he was safe. She knew where they would be, twenty, thirty years in the future. While the man sitting next to her made her heart race, she didn't know if he felt the same way as she did. Hell she didn't even know how *she* felt. She couldn't love him; she didn't even know the guy. But she wasn't indifferent to him. He made her heart do cartwheels, and this was the closest physical proximity they'd ever been in.  
  
"You do realize that you're soaking wet, right?" She looked up at him and saw the smirk on his face.  
  
"Well you're not too dry yourself." She threw back.  
  
They sat in silence for a while longer, until she spoke again, "You changed your time."  
  
So she wasn't completely uninterested in him, "A lot of things changed for me." He said mysteriously.  
  
"I'm going to ask you something very personal." It was a statement, not a question and it was helping him see who this girl was.  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
Looking at him, her green eyes sparkled, "What were you running from?"  
  
The question didn't really surprise him; it was something he should've expected. It was how he'd first seen her and it was how he'd come to actually meet her. But he didn't know her and he couldn't break down the wall that he'd taken so long to build, "We all have our demons. I was just trying to make sure mine didn't devour me."  
  
As far as answers went, it was probably the most cryptic one she'd ever gotten, but she didn't press.  
  
"Fox." He'd said it so suddenly, she wasn't sure she'd heard him right.  
  
"Fox?" The only Fox she'd ever heard of was a Crane and one of her sisters friends.  
  
"Nicholas Foxworth Crane. Fox." He stuck out his hand and she shook it.  
  
This was the famous Fox, the playboy that she'd been told her all about. The guy who'd stolen Whitney from right underneath Chad and then broken up with her a few months later, the one who cared only about himself and money. And here she was on the beach sitting with him and feeling more alive then she'd felt in, well in forever.  
  
Suddenly a gust of wind blew past them and it was then that she realized just how cold she was.  
  
"You're soaked. Let's get you inside and get some dry clothes on you."  
  
~*~  
  
He'd taken her to his apartment and she'd stolen his clothes, big as they were. They'd talked all night about themselves and the connection was still there for her. But she wouldn't say anything because she was scared. And fear is a real mood killer.  
  
He was determined, he'd talked to her and he knew that what he felt wasn't just his imagination. It was real. She was someone he connected to and he liked that.  
  
~*~  
  
Her wedding was today. He had, of course, been invited. He'd been invited before he even knew it was her. And he wondered how he would've reacted had he gone to the wedding and seen her walking down the aisle, then finding out who she was. At this moment it didn't matter, all that mattered was her and what happened.  
  
~*~  
  
He smiled as they drove past the "Thank you for visiting Harmony" sign. Life was good.  
  
~*~  
  
Ba-da! And a new ending is born. This can be taken as a Therox fic, but it IS meant to be Fox and Paloma. All you have to do is pretend that Fox and Theresa didn't know each other. Yeah, doesn't really work. PLEASE let me know what you think. I shall beg. 


End file.
